An Unexpected Friendship
by Charmed88
Summary: Kylee just moved to Britain from America and will be attending Hogwarts as a sixth year. She moved to escape the memories of her friends death, and she hopes to make new friends. She becomes friends with a few people, icluding someone unexpected.
1. Leaving for School

~Chapter One~  
  
Kylee Baise groaned as she opened her eyes to see her mother leaning over the side of her bed, trying to wake her.   
  
"Just a few more minutes, then I'll get up, I promise," Kylee begged as her mother pulled open the curtains.  
  
"Absolutely not, Kylee! It's the first day of school and you have to be at the train station in an hour! You're lucky I made you pack last night or else there's no way that you would be ready in time," her mother replied.   
  
"Alright, I'm up." Kylee knew that once her mom took "that tone" there was no arguing.  
  
"Good, breakfast is in ten minutes," her mother replied cheerfully.  
  
Kylee drug herself out of bed and grabbed the only pair of clothes she had left unpacked. She quickly got ready and ran downstairs to eat breakfast. When she walked into the kitchen her mother and father were already at the table.  
  
"Morning dad," she said as she kissed his cheek.  
  
"Good Morning," he replied as she sat down.  
  
Kylee's mom set a plate of pancakes in front of her after she had settled in her seat.  
  
"Are you going to come with us to the platform," Kylee asked her father as she dug into her breakfast.  
  
"Um, I can't, Kylee. I'm really sorry, but the Ministry needs me to come in early to help with a problem that just came up."  
  
"Oh, well, that's ok, I understand," she replied while trying to hide her disappointment.   
  
"Well, I think that we'd better be going. Are you finished eating," her mom asked as she was getting up from the table.  
  
"Yeah, let's go, I want to get a good seat on the train."  
  
Kylee, her mom, and her dad all walked out to the driveway. Kylee and her mom got into the car while her dad put her trunk and owl in the backseat. After he was done he leaned into the window and kissed her mom goodbye.   
  
"Have a good time at school. I know you'll make friends in no time," he told Kylee while he kissed her cheek.  
  
"OK, I will, Bye," she replied.  
  
"Bye," he called while they backed out of the driveway. 


	2. Meeting New People

~Chapter Two~  
  
They arrived at the train station with ten minutes to spare. Kylee worked on lugging the trunk out of the car while her mom went to get a trolly. When they got the trunk, and her owl, Llaya, on to the trolly they went up to the space between platforms nine and ten. Kylee's mom explained that in order to get to platform nine and three quarters you have to run at the wall. They both grabbed on to Kylee's cart and took off running, just at the point where Kylee was afraid that they were going to run in to the wall, they were on the other side. The platform was bustling with activity as students rushed on and off of the train to load all of their trunks. Kylee told her mother that she would be right back and rolled her trolly along side the train until she found an empty compartment. She then attempted to unload her trolly and get it in to the compartment, but succeded only in nearly crushing her foot.  
  
"Do you need help with that," a voice called from behind her.  
  
"Actually, yes. Generally I wouldn't admit defeat, but I packed so much damn stuff that I can just barely lift it," Kylee replied while turning around to see a tall, handsome blonde boy standing behind her.  
  
"I can see that. Here, you take that end and I'll grab this one," the boy directed.  
  
They then spent the next minute or so loading her trunk, and Llaya, on to the shelves above her seat.  
  
"Thanks, I would have never gotten that in here before the train left me behind," Kylee said while turning around to face him.  
  
"It would have been a shame to not see your pretty face at school. I'm Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, I'm a sixth year Slytherin, what about you? I don't remember seeing you before, and I'd remeber you," Draco stated flirtaciously.  
  
"Oh, I'm Kylee Baise. I'm pretty sure that you haven't seen me before, unless you've been to America lately, I just moved here."  
  
"Really? Well that explains why I haven't been graced with your presence before. I hate to leave you, but the trains going to leave in a minute and I need to go say bye to my parents."  
  
"Oh! I told my mom that I would be right back, she probably thinks that I got lost, so I think I need to go."  
  
"Yeah, same here. I hope to see a lot more of you at Hogwarts," Draco stated as they exited the train car.  
  
Once they were out of the train they both went their separate ways. Kylee worked her way through the crowd and over to her mother. She could already tell that her mother had been worried about her from the look of her face.  
  
"Oh, Kylee, there you are! I was getting worried about you. I thought that you had gotten lost, or kidnapped, or something hoorible like that," her mother said while pulling her into a tight hug.  
  
"It's alright mom, I was having some trouble getting my trunk onto the train and then this nice boy came over and helped me."  
  
"Oh, a boy, huh? So I see that you will have no problems with making friends. Whats his name?"  
  
"His name is Draco, Draco Malfoy," Kylee stated while trying to avoid looking her mother in the face. She knew her mother would be smiling at her and then she would get teased about "having a boyfriend."  
  
Sure enough, when she looked up her mother was smiling, but luckily the train whistle blew right then and she was save from the teasing.  
  
"Well, I guess you need to go get on the train...I'll owl you all the time to check on you, OK?"  
  
"Yeah, mom, but I'll be fine. I don't want you to spend all of your time worrying about me,OK," Kylee asked as she pulled her mother in to a hug.  
  
"OK, I promise I won't spend all my time worrying, I'll just spend all of it thinking about you and your boyfriend. Now go get on the train," her mother said while laughing at the expression on Kylee's face.  
  
Kylee gave her mom one last hug and took off running for the train. She just made it in to the car when the train started to move. She opened the window and waved to her mom until the train turned the corner. She had just got settled in her seat when the compartment door slid open. She looked up just in time to see three people walk in.  
  
"Oh, we didn't know anyone was in here. We checked earlier and the car was empty. Do you mind if we sit with you," a girl that looked about her age asked.  
  
"No, not at all. I would love to have some company. I just moved here and I don't know anyone," Kylee said while smiling at them.  
  
"Oh, well now you know us. I'm Hermione Granger, this is Harry Potter, and this is Ron Weasley."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Kylee Baise. Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude and put you on the spot, but are you THE Harry Potter?"  
  
"Yeah, lightning bolt scar and all," Harry said while pulling back his hair to reveal his scar.  
  
"Wow, I've heard about you back home," Kylee replied.  
  
"Where are you from," Ron asked.  
  
"I was born in America and lived there until last year, but my parents are from here."  
  
"That's cool. Your going to love Hogwarts, It's a really great school."  
  
"I'm sure I will, I've heard a lot about it from my parents."  
  
At that moment the compartment door slid open once more and in walked Draco Malfoy, along with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"Kylee, I've been looking all over for you," Malfoy said, "What are you doing hanging with these three?"  
  
"Oh, hey Draco. Um, I was just talking to Harry, Hermione, and Ron about Hogwarts."  
  
"Ah, well just be careful about who you hang around," Malfoy replied, "Oh, Mudblood, McGonagall says that your neglecting your prefect duties, so you better hurry up and get up to the front compartment."  
  
"You better not call her that agian, Malfoy," Ron said through gritted teeth.  
  
"And what if I do, are you going to get your friends to beat me up," Malfoy replied with a sneer.  
  
Ron jumped out of his seat, but Harry held him back. Malfoy turned and walked out of the compartment with Hermione in tow.  
  
"Why did Draco act that way towards you? He was so nice to me earlier."  
  
"Yeah, well Malfoy and us have been enimies from the very begining, but you can make your own choices about him," Harry replied.  
  
After that they settled in to their seats and had an enjoyable ride. After a while Hermione returned and they talked for the rest of the journey, quickly becoming friends. 


	3. The Sorting

~Chapter Three~  
  
When they reached Hogwarts all of the students got off the train and either went to get a carriage or go with the first years. As soon as Kylee stepped off of the train she saw a huge figure that towered over the crowd.  
  
"Who is that," Kylee asked in awe.  
  
"Who," Harry said while turning to see what she was looking at, "Oh, thats just Hagrid. He's one of our really good friends and he's not nearly as mean as he looks. He's one of the kindest people I know."  
  
"Oh, do you know if I'm supposed to go with you guys," Kylee asked.  
  
Just as she finished her question Hagrid made his way through the crowd and over to them.  
  
"Hi there 'arry," Hagrid said while patting him on the back.  
  
"Hey Hagrid," Harry replied while trying not to fall over, "This is Kylee, she just moved here. Do you know where she's supposed to go?"  
  
"Yeah, she follows the firs' years," Hagrid said while turning to face Kylee, "Jus' follow me."  
  
Kylee said bye to the others and went after Hagrid. He lead her and the first years over to a giant lake where there was about a hundered boats waiting for them.  
  
"Alrigh', there should be four to a boat," Hagrid boomed over the noise of the students.  
  
While everyone rushed to get in to a boat, Kylee walked over to one that had three other people in it.  
  
"Um, do you guys mind if I sit with you?"  
  
"No, not at all," answered a brown haired boy.  
  
"Thanks, I'm Kylee Baise," she said while she sat down in the boat.  
  
"Hi, I'm Alexander James," the boy said while the boats took off, "This is Maridith and Davison Black."  
  
"So are you three first years," Kylee asked as they all took turns shaking hands.  
  
"Um, no. We're all new students, Maridith and I are going in to our sixth year and Davison is going in to his fourth."  
  
"Wow! I'm new here too. I'm going in to my sixth year too!"  
  
They talked for a few more minutes, until the boats went under a canopy of ivy hanging down from the cliff on which the castle stood. They carried on down a dark tunnel under the castle until they reached a sort of underground harbor. They all clambored out of the boats and on to the shore. After Hagrid checked that everyone was there they started up a passageway in the rock, coming out onto a yard of grass that was directly in the shadow of the castle. Hagrid led them up a flight of stone steps and gathered them around the large, oak front door. Hagrid raised a fist and knocked three times on the door. It was only a few seconds before the door swung open. A tall, stern looking witch, with black hair pulled back in to a tight bun stood in the doorway.   
  
"The firs' years are here, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said while stepping aside so that she could see.  
  
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."  
  
She pulled the door wide open and lead them in to a large hallway that was the entrance hall. The walls on either side of them were lit with huge torches and the celing was so high that you couldn't even see it. They followed Professor McGonagall across the hall and stopped in front of what she said were the doors to the Great Hall.   
  
"Now, form a line, first years in the front and then new students, and follow me," Professor McGonagall told them as she reached for the door knobs.  
  
The next second they were lead in to, what Kylee thought of as, the most magnificent room she had ever been in. The Great Hall was lit by thousands of candles that were floating in the air above the tables. Kylee looked up and gasped, it looked like the hall just opened up to the heavens. Kylee's mom had told her that it was bewitched to look like the sky outside, but she didn't think that it would look this authentic. She looked back down just in time to see Professor McGonagall place a three legged stool in front of them. On the stool there was what appeared to be a very old hat. As soon as the stool was in place the whole room went silent. Then the hat moved and began to sing:  
  
"I'm the Hogwart's sorting hat,  
  
and I'm here to let you know;  
  
that I'll soon place you,  
  
where you belong;  
  
so that your intellect can grow.  
  
You may belong in Gryffindor,  
  
where dwell the brave at heart.  
  
Or, you may belong in Slytherin,  
  
to which Salazar gave the start.  
  
You could belong in Ravenclaw,  
  
where it's knowledge you will gain.  
  
Or you might belong in Hufflepuff,  
  
where loyalty is the game.  
  
So try me on,  
  
and soon I'll find,  
  
out what I need to know.  
  
To have you placed,  
  
in to the house,  
  
where your personality will grow."  
  
With the end of the song, Professor McGonagall adressed the first years, "When I call out your name your name step up to the hat and put it on."  
  
One by one the first years slowly got sorted in to one of the four houses and went to the matching table. After the first years Professor McGonagall announced that they had a few new students that were now going to be sorted.  
  
"Adams, Jocosta"  
  
Jocosta Adams separated herself from the group and walked up to the stool and placed the hat on her head. ----"Gryffindor!"  
  
"Baise, Kylee"  
  
Kylee walked up to the stool and dropped the hat over her head. It was so big that it slid over her eyes.  
  
"Ahhhh, Kylee. If I recall your parents went here; your father was a Gryffindor, and your mother was too."  
  
*No, my father was a Slytherin.*  
  
"Well, remember that what you think is the truth, and what really is the truth, may not always be the same. But it's not up to me to tell you what is and isn't true. Now, let me see....I think that you will do best in...  
  
-----Slytherin!"  
  
The table on the other end of the hall exploded with clapping. Kylee looked over to see Draco with what she would call a pleasent sneer. She ran over to the table and sat down just in time to hear that Meridith was joining her in Slytherin. Kylee stood and clapped while Meridith came and sat beside her. Meridith and Kylee watched her brother, Davison, be placed in to Ravenclaw. Meridith's brother looked over at them and shrugged as he sat with the Ravenclaws. As the last person was put in to Huffelpuff Professor McGonagal picked up the stool and took it away. When she returned to her seat at the faculty table Dumbledor stood to give his speech.  
  
"Hello Students! I am Headmaster Dumbledore! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! It's nice to see so many new faces mixed in with the old. Now, I'm going to make this short so we can all eat. Let me just say that, once agian, the forbidden forest is off limits to ALL students. Also, Mr.Filch has added a few new items to the list of things that are not permitted to be used on campus, you can see the list in his office. Last, but not least, I would like to welcome Professor Lupin back as Defense Agianst the Dark Arts Teacher! Now, let the feast begin!"  
  
Kylee looked at the table and watched all of the plates fill with food. They all dug in and after they were all full Dumbledore gave the closing speech. The Prefects stood up and lead the students from the Great Hall. 


	4. The Common Room

~Chapter Four~  
  
As Draco led the first years, along with new Slytherin students, Kylee made her way up to the front of the group to walk along side of him. When she was nearly beside him she touched his arm from behind.  
  
"Draco," she said while hesitantly closing the remaining space between them.  
  
When he first turned around it looked as if he had an insult waiting for whatever "dunderheaded" first year had dared make contact with him, but when he saw it was Kylee his sneer turned in to an actual smile.  
  
"Well, Kylee, it's great that we finally got a good-looking female in our house. Believe me when I say that we have been in desperate need for a long time," he said while giving her and devious grin.  
  
"Draco! Thats really quite rude! I'm sure that they all have, ummm.., some good qualities," Kylee replied as Pansy Parkinson shoved past her.  
  
"Your too nice, but that will change after you've been around us for awhile. Believe me, you don't really have the look of a Slytherin, but the hat must have seen some major qualities for sucess for you to be place in here. Slytherin is a house for all witches and wizards who are ambitious, not only in a bad way. Though many Slytherin's ARE on the side of the dark lord, there are the occasional few who aren't, and I'm guessing that you are one of them," he said while momentarily breaking their eye contact to look at the hall they were now going down.  
  
Kylee also looked at where they were and gasped. While they had been talking she didn't even realize that they had been going deeper under the school.  
  
"Where are we? I thought we were going to our Common Room," she said while being more than a little confused.  
  
"We are. Our Common Room is down in the dungeons, but don't worry, it's just as nice as any of the other rooms," he said as they stopped in front of a stone wall.  
  
"Parsletounge," he said as he turned to the wall.  
  
Kylee had a look of amazement on her face as the very wall started to transform. A huge arch opened in the wall and Draco led her, and the rest of the students, in to their new home away from home. Kylee stared in awe at the magnificantly furnished room. The walls were draped with green and silver tapestries and sparsely decorated with portraits of well-known Slytherins. There were plush rugs scattered about the floor in the places where furniture was set, there was also one particularly large one in the middle of the room, near the fireplace. The fruniture was antique in build, but looked brand new. There were a few well stuffed, and comfy, chairs over near the fireplace, along with several others stratigically placed in the different parts of the large room. There were several large tables placed along the walls, no doubt used for homework, and other, smaller ones, placed about the numerous chairs. In the far right corner there stood a large trophy case used to store all of the house trophys, and in the center of the room, near the fireplace, there was a large bulliten board hung that held all of the school news. The Common Room was completly different from what Kylle had been imagining, seeing as how it was in the dungeons, she had expected it to be a very cold, unwelcoming place, but she stood corrected. Draco looked at her as though she had gone mad, it was just the Common Room, so why did she looked so amazed?  
  
"Why are looking at the room like that? Didn't your old School have Common Rooms," he asked curiously.  
  
"Of course, but my school wasn't quite as...magical as this one. Our school didn't have moving staircases, or hidden doorways, we just used regular doors," Kylee replied as she finished taking one more glance around the room.  
  
"What?! How can a school of magic be so...un-magical? Here everything is magic. The suits os armor talk, the doors hide, and the staircases move, I can't imagine school NOT being like this," Draco replied a little perplexed.  
  
"Yeah, my school was VERY strict. The common rooms weren't nearly this nice either. You know, at first I was mad that we were moving, I was leaving everything I knew behind, but not now. This school is a lot nicer than my old school and I definately feel more at home here than I did for the last five years at my other school," Kylee stated while walking over to one of the chairs at the fireplace.  
  
Draco followed her and sat down in a chair beside her. They sat there in silence for a few moments before they were interrupted by Crabbe and Goyle loudly makeing their way over to them and sitting around Draco.  
  
"Hey, where have you two been? Stuffing your faces in the kitchens agian? Didn't you get enough food at the feast," Draco asked while giving them a look of disgust.  
  
"No, we were walking around searching for unsuspecting first years to bully," Crabbe answered while grinning at Goyle.  
  
Kylee stared at them with a look of disgust, how could Draco be friends with these horriblr people? Well, she had seen the way that he treated everyone except her. Maybe that was the way that he usually acted. She needed time to think about all this, and to see Draco acted around people besides her, so she decided to go to bed.  
  
"I think I'm going to go to bed," she said while getting out of her chair, "Is there anyone that can show me to the dormitory?"  
  
"Um, of course," Draco replied while looking around the room. "Hey, Pansy! Come over here," he yelled at a burly looking girl.  
  
"Yes, Draco," Pansy said in a sweet voice while making her way to his side.  
  
"Could you show Kylee to the Girl's Dormitory," he asked while motioning towards Kylee.  
  
"Oh, I guess," Pansy replied, looking a little dissapointed. "Come on, the dormitory's this way."  
  
Kylee followed Pansy up a flight of stairs on the far left side of the room. At the top of the stairs they reached a door that said "sixth year girls" on it. When they walked inside Kylee was met by a cozy looking room. There were six four post beds in the room draped with green velvet drapes. Beside each bed there was a small bed side table along with the trunk of the person that would sleep in that bed. Kylee was about to walk over to her bed, but she was stopped by Pansy.  
  
"Stay away from my Draco," Pansy said before turning around and leaving the room.  
  
Well, somebody's a little obsessive, Kylee thought to herself. She walked over to her bed and began to change in to her pajamas. As soon as she finished she laid down and quickly fell asleep. 


	5. First Day of Classes

~Chapter Five~  
  
Kylee awoke with a start and looked around her. It was still dark and the rest of the girls were sleeping. Why did I wake up? She thought back to what she had been dreaming and realized that she had the dream agian. She has had the same dream once a month since she was old enough to remember. It always started the same way; it was like she was seeing through someone, or something's eyes. She would be standing in front of a dark forest, looking at the sky. Then the clouds would clear to reveal the moon and she would take off running in to the forest. It was always like she was looking for something, and she would always wake up right before she found it. She didn't know why she had the dream, but she couldn't remember a time when she didn't have it. Kylee decided to go back to sleep and it wasn't long before she was in a deep slumber.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The next morning Kylee was awakened by the slivers of sunlight making it through the curtains around her bed. She streched and then pulled back the curtains. It seemed that everyone else had already gone to breakfast. She climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and then put her new school robes on over that. She placed her wand in the pocket of her robes and walked out of the Dormitory. When she reached the Common Room there were only three other people there. She went straight to the door (it was a normal door on the inside) and left the Common Room. Now the problem was trying to remember the way to Great Hall. She managed to make it above the dungeons, but then she was lost. She wandered around for a few minutes, but then she luckily ran in to Harry, literally.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Harry? Oh, this is great! I'm so glad that I ran in to you because I am so lost it's not even funny," she said while getting off the floor.  
  
"Oh, yeah, where are you trying to go," Harry asked while he in turn got up off the floor.  
  
"Um...I was trying to get to the Great Hall," she said shyly.  
  
"Ah, well your about three floors to high," he said while trying to surpress a laugh.  
  
"Fine, fine. You go ahead and laugh all you want, just because I suffer from short term memory loss and can't remember the way to the Great Hall," Kylee said while giving him an innocent look.  
  
"Do you really have short term memory loss," he asked while looking at her in disbelief.  
  
"Ok, ok....no I don't really have short term memory loss, but I could," she replied while Harry laughed at her.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Would you like me to show you the way," he asked while once more exploding with laughter at the fake scowl on her face.  
  
"I guess so. It would be better than aimlessly wandering the halls all day," she replied while starting after him down the hall.  
  
As they went down the numerous flights of stairs, Harry explained to her what was on each floor and exactly how to get to the Great Hall, just in case he wasn't there to "run" in to. After her short 'tour' of the school they finally reached the Great Hall, and just in time. They had about twenty minutes to eat and get to their first class.   
  
"Uggggh...I'll never make it to class in time now, look at how long it took me just to get to the Great Hall! And I only made it now because I ran in to you," Kylee said exasperatedly.  
  
"Hey, it's ok. If you eat quickly then we can meet outside the Hall in ten minutes and I'll show you where your first class is. Your schedule should be over at your table," Harry said trying to comfort her.  
  
"Ok," she replied brightly as they went to their own tables.  
  
Kylee walked over to the Slytherin table to find that Draco and Meridith had saved her a seat across from them. She plopped down in her seat to find her owl, Llaya, waiting for her with a letter and her schedule sitting beside her plate. She untied the letter and sent Llaya off before grabbing some toast and putting it on her plate. She then stuffed the letter in her shoulderbag and turned to face Draco and Meridith.  
  
"Wow, you guys wouldn't believe the morning I've had," Kylee said while stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth.  
  
"Was it that bad," Draco said while finishing his own breakfast.  
  
"Oh yeah," she said with her mouth half full, "It was terrible. It took me all this time just to get here! I got lost!"  
  
"Wow, well we were going to wait for you, but we need to go. Will you be ok here," Draco asked as he and Meridith got up from the table.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I'll be fine, just go," she said while starting on another piece of toast.  
  
After they were gone she decided to look over her schedule. Hmmm..she had History of Magic first. Yay, what fun, she thought with false entusiasm. She quickly gathered her things and made her way to the entrance to the Great Hall. Outside Harry was there waiting for her, just as he had said he would.  
  
"Hey, you waited for me," she said while giving him a warm smile.  
  
"Of course, I said I would," he replied while returning the smile.  
  
"Yes, you did," she said more to herself than him as they started off.  
  
"What do you have first?"  
  
"Um...History Of Magic, with Professor Binns," she said while showing him her schedule.  
  
"Ah, how, er, lucky," he said while making a face, "That class has to be the most boring event that I've ever sat through."  
  
"Yeah, thats what I figured. It just sounds boring," she replied.  
  
They talked the rest of the way up to the History Of Magic classroom and then they said goodbye. Kylee walked in to the class just in time. There weren't any seats left, so Professor Binns had to conjure up one. She sat in the desk and spent the rest of the class desperately trying not to fall asleep, but at least she did manage to take notes, well..some notes. But, some notes are better than none at all. Next she actually made it to transfiguration on time by following the crowd of other Slytherins. Transfiguration was one of the classes that she was good at. When she got to class she picked a seat near the front so that she would be able to pay attention better. Transfiguration went very well, she was one of five in the class that could tranform her raven in to a feather duster, and reverse it. Professor McGonagall awarded her 10 points! The last class of the day was her favorite, Potions. She had always excelled in potions and loved the class. Now she had double potions with Gryffindor and on the way to the dungeons she saw Harry.  
  
"Harry! Over here! Hey, I didn't run in to you this time," she said while pushing her way over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  
  
"Hey, your in our potions class next, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I didn't get lost this time, but I probably would have if I hadn't found you guys," she admitted.  
  
They soon reached the Potions classroom and went inside.The first thing she noticed was that most of the Gryffindors were on one side of the room and the Slytherins were on the other. She guessed that they had assigned seats and walked up to Professor Snape.  
  
"Hello, sir. My name is Kylee Baise. I'm new here and I was wondering if I should sit in a particular seat, or not," Kylee said politely.  
  
Snape looked a little taken aback. He wasn't used to getting respect from students, even most of those from his own house.   
  
"Well Ms. Baise, if I can go by your transcript, then you have a great talent for potions. So, if you wouldn't mind, I would like you to sit over there by Mr.Longbottom, he could use the help," Snape said while motioning to the empty seat beside Neville.  
  
"Sure, I never mind helping people with potions. This is my favorite subject, I just have a knack for it," she replied. Kylee made her way over to Neville and sat down. After she got her cauldron and other potions utensils and ingredients she turned to face Neville.  
  
"Hi! I'm Kylee," she said while giving him a warm smile.  
  
"Um, hi. I'm Neville," he replied shyly.  
  
"Well, anything you need help with just ask," Kylee said encouragingly.  
  
"Yes, Mr.Longbottom. From what I've read, your very lucky to have such a talented person next to you," Snape said with his usual sneer on his face.  
  
Neville looked like he was terrified of Professor Snape yelling at him. After Professor Snape walked to the other side of the room Kylee turned to face Neville.  
  
"It's ok Neville, I'll help you with ANYTHING you need. If your having problems with the potion then just ask," Kylee said comfortingly.  
  
"Ok, you know your really nice. Usually I just get made fun of by Slytherins," Neville confessed to her.  
  
"Really? Well I'm not like everyone else," she replied.  
  
"I noticed," Neville said to himself.  
  
The rest of the class Kylee helped Neville make a Memory Potion, along with making her own. When Snape came around the class to look in to all of their cauldrons he highly praised Kylee for hers.  
  
"Well Longbottom, it looks as if you've actually managed to do something right this time," Snape said to Neville.  
  
"Bring a vial of your potion up to my desk to turn in," he said to the rest of the class.  
  
Kylee stoppered her vial, labled it, and walked up to Snape's desk. There was a bit of a line so she just set it in the test tube rack and was about to walk away, when Snape called her back.  
  
"Good job, Ms.Baise. You really should consider being in my Honors Potions Class next year. If you had been a previous student of mine then you could have been in it this year," he said while taking potions from other students.  
  
"Oh, thank you, Professor Snape. I would love to be in Honors Potions next year," Kylee replied.  
  
The crowd in front of the desk was getting larger so she decided to gather her things and leave. When she passed in to the hallway she saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville waiting for her. They told her that everyone gets the afternoons off.  
  
"Really?! Thats great. They didn't do anything like that at my school, except give us Friday afternoons off," Kylee said.  
  
"Wow, we were just wondering if you wanted to go visit Hagrid with us," Harry asked.  
  
"Oh, sure. It's not like I have anything better to do," Kylee replied as they started to walk down the hall.  
  
Kylee spent the rest of the afternoon with them at Hagrids. They ended up staying until dinner time. They walked with Hagrid up to the school and in to the Great Hall. Once they reached the Hall they all went to their seperate tables; Harry, Ron and Hermione went to Gryffindor, Hagrid went to the teachers table, and Kylee went to the Slytherin table. Luckily Draco and Meridith had saved her a seat agian.  
  
"Hey," she said as she sat down across from them.  
  
"Hey, what were you doing hanging out with Potter, Longbottom, mudblood Granger, and the Weasle," Malfoy asked.  
  
"Excuse me?! The last time I checked I was allowed to be friends with whomever I want," she retorted.  
  
"Fine, but you might want to be a little more careful who your seen with," he said.  
  
Aside from their little episode in the beginning, the rest of dinner went fairly well. After dinner was over Kylee made her way back to the Common Room. To avoid another, more private, episode with Draco she went straight to the Dormitory. She got in to her pajamas and got in to bed. After laying there for a little bit, she fell asleep. 


	6. A Somewhat Unexpected Letter

~Chapter Six~  
  
The next morning Kylee awoke to the sound of voices right outside the curtains on her bed. She could tell that one of them was Pansy Parkinson, but she wasn't sure about the other one. She opened her curtians just a little and peeked out. She was met with the sight of Pansy and another girl going through her trunk! She threw the curtians open and jumped out of bed.  
  
"What the hell do you think your doing," Kylee screamed while taking a step towards them.  
  
Pansy and the other girl ran out of the room when Kylee walked towards them. She bent down to put all of her things back in to her trunk and to make sure that they hadn't taken anything. When she bent down she noticed that her journal was laying open on the floor. "Well it's a good thing that I haven't written much in it lately," Kylee said to herself. First she had been busy with moving across the ocean, then she was busy with preparing for school. She bent down and put her things back in the trunk and pulled out some clothes for the day before closing it and putting a locking charm on it. She pulled on the clothes and then continued to put on her school robes on and placed her wand in her pocket. She then walked over to the mirror. Her golden brown tresses fell in semi-curled locks down to a spot just past her shoulder blades and her chocolate brown eyes gazed appraisingly at her image in the mirror. Hmmm...should I wear my hair up or down? She decided on a half up/half down style. She took the front locks of her hair and pulled them back in to a small bun, but she let the rest of it hang loose. She pulled on her shoes and went to grab her shoulder bag. Then she noticed the letter sticking out of the front pocket on her bag. How could I forget to read this? She pulled the letter out of her bag and sat on the end of her bed to read it.  
  
"Hey Kylee,  
  
I'm just writing to check on you, just like I said I would. How was the train ride? I hope it was good, I usually had a good time on the ride there. I hope you made some good friends and that your having a good time, and learning a lot. What house were you sorted in? That is the one thing that I was really curious to see because we have so many different ancestors that were in a wide variety of houses. Well, I hope that your first day of school goes well. Love, Mom."  
  
Kyle scribbled a quick reply telling her mother that she would write a longer one when she had time, and stuck it in her bag. She then slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way out of the dormitory. When she reached the common room she went straight to the door and left. Today she actually managed to make it to the Great Hall on her own, and with 45 minutes left before her first class. When she reached the doors to the Great Hall she saw Harry and Neville standing outside of them talking. She said a quick hello and went in to the Hall. When she sat down at the Slytherin table she was met with the suprising sight of Meridith sitting on Draco's lap.  
  
"Well, you guys seem to have gotten pretty close for the short amount of time that you have known each other," Kylee said as she sat down.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we have," Meridith replied while sliding in to a seat next to Draco so that they could both eat.  
  
"Well, thats good for you," Kylee replied while placing some toast on her plate and filling her cup with pumpkin juice.  
  
For a second she thought she saw Draco look at her with a deflated look in his eyes, but it must have been her imagination because when she looked at him agian he was smiling at Meridith. Kylee was about half way finished with her toast when Llaya flew down and landed right in the middle of the table. Kylee untied the letter from Llaya's leg and then feed the owl a few bits of toast. When Llaya was content with the amount of table scraps that she had resieved Kylee tied the letter to her Mom on to Llaya's leg and told the owl who it was going to. After she had flown off Kylee picked up the letter and opened it. She gasped, grabbed her bag, and ran out of the Hall. She ran past the students and on to the grounds where she found a spot that was partially cut off from view by a cluster of trees. Only when she was out of sight did she sit down to fully read the letter.  
  
"Kylee,  
  
Hey. I hope your having a good time in your new home. I also hope that school is going well. I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. You know how I feel about you, but I have to do this. I can't stay in this relationship with you living across the ocean from me. Thats not down the street, or even out of the state, its acroos the ocean. Maybe if we were old enough to apparate it would be different, but we can't and it's not. I also found someone new after you moved and I like her a lot. I know that right now you probably have found someone new too, and if you haven't, then I wish you the best of luck. Love, Matt."  
  
Kylee let the note fall to the ground and buried her face in her hands. She had known that this was coming, but she didn't think that it would hit her that hard. She and Matt had been together for three years now, and she just hadn't planned on it being this hard to let go. She didn't even hear the footsteps from behind her, didn't even know that someone was there until they touched her shoulder. She picked up her head to see Neville sitting on the ground beside her. She quickly tried to wipe away her tears, but he had already seen them.   
  
"Um, Are you okay," he asked, the worry showing clearly on his face.  
  
"Oh, I guess I'll be fine, I'm just upset," she replied, touched by his concern.  
  
"What happened," he asked while turning his body to face her.  
  
"Oh, It's nothing really. It's just that, back in America, I had a boyfriend. We were really close, he was also my best friend. But, now that I moved, he doesn't want to be together anymore. I understand why, I really do, its just that I didn't think it would hit me this hard. He's already found someone else, and I have just barely made friends," she replied realizing that he was easy to talk to. She would have thought that it would be embarrasing to have him hear this, but it wasn't.  
  
"Oh, well he must be pretty stupid to leave you," Neville replied looking completly serious.  
  
"Yeah, well I appreciate the attempt to make him look like the stupid one, but I believe it was me in this case. I should have broken it off before I moved, then it would have been on my own terms, and at my own time. Not just because he found someone new," she replied while giving him a little smile.   
  
"Oh, well I'm sure it just seems that way to you. And, just to let you know, classes are starting in twenty minutes."  
  
Kylee looked at her watch at gasped, "Your right, do you want to go back in to the castle?"  
  
"Actually, I have Care of Magical Creatures first, it's out here on the grounds," Neville replied.  
  
"Oh," she said while taking out her schedule to see what she had first,"I have that first too!" So they made their way over to the paddock beside Hagrid's hut and sat down. About ten minutes later students started making their way over to where they now sat for class. For the rest of the class Kylee stayed near Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, not feeling like explaining the situation at breakfast to Draco or Meridith. After Care of Magical Creatures Kylee had Defense Agianst the Dark Arts, with Professor Lupin. Kylee arrived in the Defense Agianst the Dark Arts classroom just in time to grab a seat in the middle row, which she thought was the perfect place to sit. That day in class they reviewed some of the things that they were supposed to have learned as fifth years and by the end of class Kylee had come to the conclusion that Lupin was one of the best professors that she has ever had. Her third, and last, class of the day was Ancient Runes. Kylee was really interested in runes, aside form potions it was her favorite subject to learn about. But the amount of pleasure that she derived from the class would all depend on the teacher. She found that the teacher was a fairly good one and really enjoyed the class. After her classes were over she made her way up to the common room to get her homework out of the way before dinner. She had to read the chapter on Vampries and then she had to do a two foot essay on the roots of Ancient Runes, to be turned in tomorrow. She was a quick reader, so she knocked out the reading for Defense Agianst the Dark Arts fairly quick, and after another hour had passed, she also had the essay done. Feeling very pleased with herself, she carried her things up to her dormitory and then decided to walk outside. There was still almost 45 minutes of daylight left and Kylee decided to go sit by the lake. She sat there feeding the Giant Octopus spare bits of food that she had retrieved from the Great Hall until the sun began to set and then began walking back towards the castle for dinner. Luckily dinner went fairly silent, with no mention of this morning. Draco and Meridith seemed to be fairly wrapped up in each other and hardly talked to her. But that was alright, she didn't really feel like talking anyways. After dinner she made her way back to her common room and went to the dormitory. She dressed in her pajamas and then layed in bed for awhile and thought about everything that had gone on lately before drifting off to sleep. 


	7. A Rising Dilemma

**Hey Everyone!! Sorry for the LONG amount of time it took me to update! I had a bit of writers block and a lot of homework! Well, I hope you like this chapter! Please leave a review!  
  
~Chapter 7~  
  
Kylee found that the next few weeks went by fairly quick due to their uneventfulness. She was in the Great Hall for breakfast and as she once agian looked across the table she found herself thinking that it seemed as if Draco and Meridith were growing closer with each day that passed, but what she couldn't figure out was how she felt about this. Yes, he had a tendency to be rude, mean, and selfish, but she had seen something else in him. Something she thought no one else had seen. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was what had been keeping her from completly writing him off as a jerk. She had been growing closer with Neville as Draco had been with Meridith. Neville was the reason that she had finally come to the conclusion that she needed to forget about Draco, after all, he was with Meridith. But, even though Neville was a great friend, and had helped her to let go of Draco(...kind of) , she just couldn't think of him as more than a friend. For some reason, he just wasn't what she was looking for. He wasn't what her heart was telling her to go for. She was about to start down another endless chain of thoughts when Neville came up and stood beside her.   
  
"Hey Kylee, Kylee? Hello in there..."  
  
"Oh, sorry Neville! I completely zoned out! I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night," she stated while laughing it off.  
  
"That's alright, it happens to everyone once in while," Neville replied while taking the seat next to her.  
  
"Hey Longbottom, shouldn't you be off looking at plants, or attempting to use magic without blowing something up," Draco asked while giving Neville one of his 'You can't say anything because my fathers rich' sneers.  
  
"Draacccooo..." Kylee groaned while giving him that 'did you really have to do that' look that she manages to save just for him.  
  
"What?! I was merely bringing his obvious lack of magical talent, and completely boring life, to your attention," he replied while trying to look innocent.  
  
"Yeah? Well, as important as you think that may be, I don't find it entertaining. And you promised that you would be nice from now on...does that mean nothing to you," Kylee asked while gathering her things.  
  
"Of course it does...but I just couldn't resist. The opportunity was staring me in the face and saying 'Take me, take me, you know you want to make fun of that little dunderheaded twerp.'"  
  
"Well, maybe you'll learn to get some will power," Kylee retorted while storming out of the Great Hall. She was walking through the hallways at a very fast pace, not even looking to see where she was going. She was just turning down yet another one of the many hallways in the school, when she slammed right into something...or should she say someone. She reeled for a moment before looking up to see who she had run into. Whoops...  
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Professor Lupin! I was just not paying attention to where I was going and then..."  
  
"It's perfectly alright Kylee. I was just out for my stroll through the castle when I thought to myself, 'Gee, I really hope someone would run into me, I haven't been run into in ages!' When, just like that, you appeared."   
  
"Oh...er...um, yeah," she managed to get out as her face turned a lovely shade of red.  
  
"I'm just kidding! I'm sorry if I embarresed you, I'm fine, really! And, don't worry, I get run into ALL the time. Students have a tendency to not watch where they're going. But, why don't you come to my office and explain what had you so flustered," he replied while laying a hand on her shoulder to steer her towards his office.  
  
Once they reached his office, he shut the door and motioned towards a chair on the opposite side of his desk, where he had sat down. Kylee took a seat and looked up to the Professor.  
  
"Now, what happened to get you so riled up," he asked while waving his wand over his desk making two cups of tea appear.  
  
"It was just Draco, being, well...Draco," she replied while taking a sip of her tea.  
  
"Ah, well that explains it all. Mr.Malfoy could upset ANYONE. What did he do this time?"  
  
"Well, you've probably noticed that I have become friends with a few Gryffindors. Draco doesn't approve of this, and everytime one of them comes to our table he has to go and say something insulting. Now, this bothers me, so I asked him to try and be nice, and he promised me that he would. But, then this morning Neville came over to our table and was about to say something, when there goes Draco. I believe he said, 'Hey Longbottom, shouldn't you be off looking at plants, or attempting to do magic without blowing something up?' And then I told him that he promised me he was going to be nice. And you know what he said? He said he couldn't resist the opportunity! So I told him to get some will power and stormed out of the Great Hall," she finished while drawing a long, deep breath.  
  
"Ah, well, I can see where that would be frustrating. And it's better that you left than cursed him," he said while giving her a small smile.  
  
"Yeah, I guess your right, Professor. Thanks for listening, I really needed to vent that pent up frustration," she said while finishing her tea.  
  
"Anytime, and I mean that. No matter what time it is, or when, you can ALWAYS come talk to me if you need someone to listen. And anything you tell me will be strictly confidential."  
  
"Thanks Professor, I might just take you up on that some time," she said while smiling at him.  
  
"Yeah? Well, like I said, your always welcome. But, for now you'd better be off to class, I think the bell's about to ring," he replied while getting up to open the door for her.  
  
"Oh! Thanks," she said as she walked into the hallway.  
  
Professor Lupin shut the door behind her and she was left in the hallway alone, to think over the mornings events. There were many things she would have to deal with, but right now her main thought was getting to class on time! She managed to make it to History of Magic before the bell rang and sat in the seat next to Meridith, as she wasn't talking to Draco yet.  
  
"Where were you?! I looked for you in the common room and the dormitory, but I couldn't find you," Meridith whispered just as the bell rang.  
  
"Oh, I was so frustrated over Mr. I better than everyone else that I was storming down the hall and ran straight into Professor Lupin," Kylee replied as Professor Binns took his place in front of the class.  
  
"What?! Lucky You! He hardly goes out and around the castle anymore!"  
  
"Yeah, and then he listened while I told him why I was so riled up."  
  
"Mmmm..Yummy! He has to be the best looking Professor ever," Meridith whispered back while Professor Binns began his lesson of the day.  
  
"Meridith! He's a Professor! But..he is hot," Kylee replied as they broke out in silent giggles.  
  
After History of magic, Meridith and Kylee left the classroom and made their way to transfiguration while STILL talking about that morning's events. In transfiguration they were reviewing last weeks spell because a majority of the class hadn't mastered it yet, so Kylee was free to sit there and half think about her delimma.   
  
*Hmmm...Draco will never change, will he? Well, obviously. But what should I do? If I stay friends with Neville, Draco will only get worse, but if I stop being friends with Neville then I won't have him as a friend AND Draco will think that he can control me with his little rants, Which he CAN'T. Ugggh, this is SO confusing...*   
  
It was at that moment that the bell rang signalling the end of class. Kylee packed up her things and made her way down to the potions classroom. She was early, as always, and sat down in her seat and unpacked her potions things. Soon the other students began to filter in to the room and take their seats. Neville walked in and sat down beside her just as the bell rang. She could tell by the look on his face that he was embarrassed about this morning.   
  
"BE QUIET! Now today we will be working on the level 2 healing potion. Take out your things and begin," Professor Snape said as he waved his wand, making the directions to the potion appear on the board.  
  
With the extra potions help she had been giving Neville, he had actually become partially good at potions and he only had to ask her about this potion once. She was the first person finished with their potion and poured a sample of it into a vial and proceeded to put a stopper in the vial. She cleaned up her potions ingrediants fairly quick and walked up to Professor Snape's desk to turn in the potion.  
  
"Ah, Ms.Baise, nice potion. Hmm..just the right color. Lets see if it works. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a minor burn, which should be easily cured with this potion.   
  
He let a few drops of the potion fall onto the burn. She then watched anxiously as the burn slowly receeded and then dissappered all together.  
  
"Very well, Ms.Baise. Top marks for the day. You may use the rest of the time left in class to start your essay for the night. 'The different forms of the modern healing potion,' to be turned in tomorrow. It should be two feet."  
  
"Yes, sir," Kylee replied as she turned around and went back to her seat.   
  
She managed to get a paragraph of the essay out of the way before the bell rang, the rest she would do in the dormitory. She packed up her things and quickly made her way up to the common room, she didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment. She diligently worked on her homework until dinner time, when she called the house elves to bring her food here. She ate her meal and made her way up to the dormitory before anyone else got back. She needed more time to think about her situation before she talked to Draco, so think she did...until she fell into a peaceful sleep. 


	8. A surprise and mixed emotions

**Hey Everyone!! Yes, another chapter for my few readers. Though you are few in number, you are greatly appreciated!! Yes, I would feel the need to go on with the story if there was no one reading it! So, thank you for reading...please review at the end of the chapter!  
  
~Chapter Eight~  
  
Kylee awoke the next morning at six, two hours before she needed to be up and about. She laid there in bed trying to force her self to sleep, but she just couldn't. After thirty minutes of sheer boredom, she gave a defeated sigh and sat up. She quietly got out of bed and tip-toed over to her trunk to get some clothes for the day. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a black tank-top before putting her robes on over top of them. She grabbed her wand, put it the inside pocket of her robes, and proceeded to grab her bag and creep out of the dormitory. She kept going until she was out of the common room and walking through the hallways.   
  
*Hmmm..where should I go? Where is there to go this early in the morning?? Oh! I can go to the Room of Requirement! I think I remember where that is. I should have paid more attention when Harry took me there. Hmm...I think it was down near the Great Hall.*  
  
She walked down her normal route to the Great Hall, but when she reached it she kept walking. She walked down the hall until she saw the familiar tapestry which hid the entrance to the room. She walked behind the tapestry thinking of the room and the door appeared in the wall. She twisted the knob and pulled the door open. When she looked up she gave a surprised gasp.   
  
"Harry! What are you doing up this early...and down here," she asked regarding him with skepticism.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," he replied while smiling at her.  
  
"Oh...I couldn't sleep. I woke up an hour ago and could not force my self to sleep anymore," she said, letting a sigh escape her lips as she sat in a chair directly across from Harry's.  
  
"Same here...I was having the nightmare again..."  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? If you want to be alone I can leave," she said while attempting to get out of the comfy chair.  
  
"Oh no. I'd rather have company...and there's really nothing you can do except turn back time and keep Sirius from dying," Harry replied while looking down at the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry Harry. We haven't been talking as much the last two weeks. It's my fault, I was kinda caught up in my own problems."  
  
"Don't worry about it. We're talking now...that's what matters. I learned the hard way that you can't turn back time no matter how much you wish you could. It's how you handle the present that matters."  
  
"Ah, well...I guess you're right. But don't let me do it again. I need to talk to you wether my conscious mind realizes it all the time or not. You're the only one I've told about what happened back home. What happened to Jess...," Kylee said as her eyes began to water.  
  
Harry thought about it and the chair Kylee had been sitting on turned in to a couch. He went and sat beside her.  
  
"It wasn't your fault, just like I realized with your help that Sirius' death wasn't my fault. They both died protecting someone they cared about, I don't know about Jess...but I know that's how Sirius would have wanted to die.   
  
"I guess...I just wish that she was still around for me to talk to. But, when I mat you, you kinda took her place as the person that I could tell anything. You know that the real reason I moved was to escape the memories back home. You're the only one I have that I can talk to...my parents don't understand, Neville's great but I just can't talk to him, Draco's to busy being a jerk most of the time, and Meridith is too busy with her social life. Everyone's just too busy for me, everyone except you.."  
  
Harry stared at her. She was so beautiful and she didn't even know it, she couldn't possibly know it. At that moment when he looked over at her a few strands of her honey colored hair were lying across her cheek, her brown eyes were glistening with partially dried tears. He just couldn't resist himself...he slowly leaned over to close the space between them and touched his lips to hers. At first she gave a little jump in shock but then she leaned into it, went with it. When she pulled back Harry looked into her eyes and blushed.   
  
"O-Oh, I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that, I can't believe I just did that," Harry stuttered while slowly backing towards the door.  
  
"Harry, wait. Don't..," but it was too late, he had already left the room.   
  
She sighed and picked her bag up off the floor. She looked at her watch and realized that it was time for breakfast. When she entered the Great Hall she quickly scanned it for any sight of Harry before plopping into a seat infront of Draco and Meridith. No Harry....   
  
"Why are you looking so...dazed this morning," Meridith asked while glancing at her before turning to Draco.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing. I just couldn't sleep last night," Kylee replied while looking over to see that Meridith was now engrossed in her own little world and didn't even hear her.  
  
Since Harry wasn't there, Meridith was ignoring her, she wasn't talking to Draco, and she wasn't hungry, she figured she might as well make her way up to Defense...her first class of the day. When she entered the classroom she found it empty, which wasn't surprising seeing as they still had 20 minutes of breakfast left. She plopped down in her usual seat and set her bag on the ground beside her. She put her head in her hands and just sat there with her elbows propped on the desk...that was until someone walked in the classroom. She glanced up to see Professor Lupin enter the room and walk over to his desk. For a moment he was busy shuffling papers and didn't even notice she was there. He looked up after his desk was organized and that was when he saw her.  
  
"Kylee? What are you doing here so early? Most of the students are still down in the Great Hall finishing their breakfasts," he said as he sat down on the edge of his desk.  
  
"I know...it's just some stuff happened this morning, and there's still the thing from yesterday, and I just didn't have any reason to stay in the Hall."  
  
"Ah, well..you know you can talk to me if you need someone to listen to you, but I trust you'll talk to someone if you need to. For the time being, you are always welcome to come to this class if you need somewhere to go in the mornings," he said as he resumed getting ready for class that day.  
  
Kylee just sat there and after five more minutes the first few students began to filter into the class. After everyone was sitting in their seats, Harry in the back with Ron and Hermione and Neville in the far left corner with Seamus, Professor Lupin got up in front of the class to begin.   
  
"Ok, now that everyone's here we can get started. We're going to put the curses we've been learning to use and practice dueling. I'm going to split you up in pairs, but, since there's an uneven number in this class, one of you will be paired with me."  
  
He mostly paired Slytherins with Slytherins and Gryffindors with Gryffindors, but at the end only she was left.  
  
"Alright, Kylee, I thought that you wouldn't mind if you were paired with me, and seeing as you've been getting extra Defense lessons, I thought you could help me do a demonstration for the class."  
  
Kylee stood up and walked to the front of the classroom where Professor Lupin was standing. She turned to face him as he was telling the class to watch closely. He turned and they bowed to each other and right when she began to straighten she felt a curse whisk past her ear.  
  
"STUPIFY," she yelled as she ducked to miss the spell he had sent at her.   
  
The curse just barely missed him and they kept going, back and forth for nearly twenty minutes. By this time they were both getting quite tired and their motions were becoming a little sluggish. She noticed that Professor Lupin's motions weren't as quick as before, and took her chance when he sent the next spell at her. She stood in place to make it look as if it was going to hit her and ducked out of the way at the last second while sending a curse at the Professor. It just hit him and he fell to the floor shaking with laughter since the spell had been the tickling one. She quickly ended the spell and helped the professor up as the class burst into applause.  
  
"Very well done. Now, would you mind telling the class how you won?"  
  
"Oh, well, after fighting for that long, both of our movement were getting a little sluggish. I took the opportunity when to sent the last curse at me to stand there and act like the spell was going to hit me. That way, thinking you would have won and being tired, you stood there and that gave me the chance to send a curse at you and it hit you before you had the chance to properly move out of the way."  
  
"Very good, now I want all of you to break up into the pairs that I assigned you. Kylee, you can walk around and help people if their having problems."  
  
Kylee spent the rest of the lesson helping people perfect their dueling and get a few spells right. The rest of the day was fairly boring and she didn't really have anything to distract her from thinking about the mornings events. At dinner time she just grabbed somefood and went outside on the grounds, what she didn't know was that some one had followed her. She was just about to sit in her favorite spot by the lake to eat when she felt someone say her name. She quickly spun around to see who it was and discovered that it was....  
  
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Sorry everyone!! I know, you probably hate me right now...but I had to make sure I would have something good to post next chapter!! And I wanted to try and leave a cliff hanger for once instead of the same boring ending...well maybe I'll get more reviews this way! Please read and review, after all...today is my birthday!! 


	9. A New Surprise and More Mixed Emotions

**Hey everyone!! Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I really appreciate them! Well...on with the story! Oh, I also changed a little detail in Chapter 3..if you want to read it, it's in the part when she puts the Sorting Hat on and the hat's talking to her.  
  
Last Time: She was just about to sit in her favorite spot by the lake to eat when she heard someone say her name. She quickly spun around to see who it was and discovered that it was....  
  
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~Chapter Nine~  
  
"Neville," she asked while trying to see the persons face clearly in the semi-darkness.  
  
"Yeah...I, um, wanted to talk to you about something. I was going to do it yesterday, but you ran off during breakfast. And then you weren't in the Great Hall this morning when I was there."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just frustrated over Draco, and then there was something that happened this morning," she replied as she sat down and got him to sit with her.  
  
"Oh...well, do you mind if we talk now? Or, did you want to be alone?"  
  
"No, I don't mind. I was just coming out here because it's a lot more peaceful than the Great Hall. What's on your mind?"  
  
"Er, well, ever since the day when we had our first conversation, we've been friends. And that's good, but my feelings for you are, um, more than just feelings of friendship. The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up in the next month and I-I wanted to know if you would like to go with me," he said quickly while looking at her through the darkness.  
  
"Oh...I had no idea that you felt this way. I would go with you, but I--I kind of have feelings for someone else."  
  
"Oh...," he said, the dissapointment evident in his voice.  
  
"Neville, I'm really sorry. I had no idea that you felt this way. I--I would never do anything to hurt you if I could help it because you're my friend."  
  
"I know. I was just stupid enough to believe that you would have feelings for me too. I should have know better," he said while standing up and turning away from her.  
  
"Neville, you are anything but stupid! I can't help it if I don't see you that way, please don't be mad at me. I would hate it if this ruined our friendship, because you're one of my good friends. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't become friends with you. If you didn't notice, I don't exactly have a whole lot of friends. I could probably count my friends on one hand, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I just don't want to lose you as one of them," she said while looking down at the ground.  
  
"I know," he sighed while turning back around to face her, "I don't want to lose you as a friend either because I also don't have very many friends. I just really like you and I had hoped that you would feel the same. I also know that you can't help who you like...It's kind of something your mind can't decide for you. So I don't have any hard feelings toward you, but if you change your mind then I'll be waiting."  
  
"Ok. I'll make sure to remember that. I'm glad that we can still be friends because, believe it or not, you really are one of my closest friends," she replied while pulling him into a hug.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to whatever it was that you wanted to come out here to think about. Maybe I'll see you in the Great Hall tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah, I'll be there. And don't be a stranger, I'm not going to let Draco bother you anymore. I'll make him see things my way eventually, even if I have to tell him a thousand times," she said while smiling at him as he started to walk off.  
  
Kylee watched him until he was out of sight. She then started to pick at her food, though she wasn't really hungry anymore.  
  
Uggggh...everything just keeps getting more complicated. I feel really bad about Neville, I know how much courage it took for him to ask me and I turned him down. But I don't want to go out with him because I feel bad for him...it just wouldn't be right. I'm glad that we can still be friends after this. I really like Harry, though I didn't realize it until he kissed me. I'm surprised that I didn't see it coming. I still can't believe he kissed me! I hope he really meant it and it wasn't just a spur-of-the moment thing, though Harry doesn't seem to be the type to just do things without thinking. Well, unless it has something to do with his friends and them getting hurt...but that's just another good quality he has. I don't want anyone to get hurt, well, if I can help it. Sometimes things are just out of my hands. Mom always used to tell me to not deny myself happiness to make someone else happy. Which I think is true...I can't spend my whole life worrying about everyone else. If I do then I will never be happy. But...I'm still going to be cautious of other peoples feelings. If Harry and I do get in a relationship then I'll remember to make sure not to flaunt it in front of Neville Then there's Draco...If he doesn't like me hanging out with Gryffindors, then I can't imagine how he'll react if I date one. But what does it matter to him if I date a Gryffindor? Why should he care? I mean, it's my life, not his. It should actually be really funny to see how he reacts if he finds out about the kiss, though I don't see how he would. But, I might not get to see how he reacts. What if Harry regrets it? What if he just pretends like it never happened? What if...  
  
At that moment her thought process was interupted when she heard someone call her name.  
  
"Yeah," she yelled back, wondering who could be looking for her now.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"I'm over here by the lake."  
  
"Alright," the person called back.  
  
They were getting closer, but she still couldn't tell who it was. After a few minutes of listening to them slowly make their way over to the lake in the darkness and a couple of curses later the person finally took out their wand. When they finally reached her and sat down beside her she thought she could make out some of their facial features in the wandlight, but it was still dark and the light was pointing away from the person.  
  
"Is that you, Harry," she asked, squinting as the light was put on her face.  
  
"Uh, no. It's Draco...Ugh, I can't believe you just thought I was Potter!"  
  
"Oh, sorry Draco but, it is dark you know and you had that stupid light shining in my face. Why didn't you turn it on when you got out here," she asked while laughing at how flustered Draco got and pushing the wand out of her face.  
  
"Well, I didn't think about it.... Are you laughing at me? How can you sit there and laugh at me," he asked while looking at her in what she knew was most likely one of his I-can't-believe-you're-doing-anything-other-than- worshiping-me looks.  
  
"Because it's funny. Why do you get so riled up whenever someone mentions Harry?"  
  
"Well, One: He's a stupid git who thinks he's some sort of hero, Two: He thinks he above everyone because he's the 'boy who lived', and Three: We're mortal enemies."  
  
"Thats your opinion, and I'm not going to get mad at you for it, but why do you have to get angry with me becuase I'm friends with him? If you really cared about me, or our friendship, at all then you would just let me be friends with whomever I want. I just don't understand how it can bother you that much."  
  
"Because, if your friends with him, then you might change your mind about me. He hates me...and the feeling is mutual, but you get along with both of us and I just don't see how that works."  
  
"Correction, I get along with you sometimes. If you would stop being such a git about everything then we might get along better," she said while grinning at him, "I get along with Harry because he doesn't judge me for being friends with you as well as him. He said that's my choice to make, and it is...you just can't seem to understand that. Can we just call a truce? You know you don't have to be civil to him when your out of my presence, but whenever him, or Neville, come to our table to ask me something, or talk to me you do. It would make things a lot easier...I wouldn't feel like I have to choose between you guys all the time. You don't know how frustrating it is when you insult Neville or Harry. Because then I feel like if I defend them, I'm choosing their side, but if I don't, then I'm choosing your side. It kind of pulls me in both directions in once and that isn't a pleasent feeling. So please agree to be cival to them in my presence....Please?"  
  
"Fine...but I will not be any different towards them when your not standing right in front of me," he said while giving her a I-don't-like this-but-I'm- doing-it-anyways look.  
  
"Deal," she said while leaning over and hugging him.  
  
"Right, well, I, er, have to go," he replied while getting up to walk back to the castle.  
  
"Thanks, Draco," she called as he disappeared into the Darkness with only his wand to light the way.  
  
Well, there's one problem that just got better...but then there's another that got worse.  
  
She sat there a few more minutes before getting up herself. When she was close enough to the castle to be able to see better, she looked at her watch...it was 8:30, she now had thirty minutes to get down to her common room. When she reached the common room there were quite a few students there, after all...it wasn't all that late. She ended up running up to the dormitory, grabbing her bag, and sitting down at a table with Blaise (Zambini) to do her homework. Blaise was really nice, but it was pretty well known that he was gay. This actually made him easier to hang around with since you didn't have to worry about all that 'guy' stuff with him. He was perfect to hang out with if your bored or just need someone to do your homework with.  
  
"Hey Blaise," she said as she began to unpack her books and other supplies.  
  
"Hey," he said while momentarily looking up from his essay to grin at her.  
  
"What are you working on?"  
  
"The History of Magic essay that was assigned yesterday, I'm just about finished."  
  
"Ah, I managed to get that out of the way yesterday. I'm about to finish my Ancient Runes homework, then I think I'm caught up," she replied while opening her Ancient Runes book and un-rolling the parchment that contained the nearly completed assignment.  
  
"Yeah, this is the last thing I have to do."  
  
They worked for about a half an hour, each finishing at a different time. When they were finished they packed up their things and just sat there and talked. They talked for quite awhile before Kylee even looked at her watch. She told Blaise what time it was and they both decided to make their way up to bed.  
  
"Goodnight, Blaise," Kylee called as she slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk towards the stairs that lead to the dormitory.  
  
"G'night," he replied while giving a small yawn and going up the stairs leading to his dormitory.  
  
When she reached the dormitory she crept in silently and set her bag down beside her trunk. She then proceeded to hang up her robes and dress in her pajamas. As she crawled into bed she pulled the curtians around her. She got into a comfortable position and soon fell into a not so peaceful slumber.  
  
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I know, I know...it's not the longest chapter, but I didn't want to start off a whole new day in one chapter. Don't worry, the next chapter will be coming soon!! Thanks agian to all my reviewers!!  
  
Dragon Faere: I wanted to take the time to answer your questions. She grew closer to Harry after the whole "running in to him" accident. They were both kind of looking for someone to talk to seeing as neither had anyone close to them who would understand. Both of then had lost a great freind and were grieving, even if it didn't show on the outside. So Harry told her about Sirius hoping to find some comfort in someone who might understand. Kylee wasn't afraid because why should she be? Sirius was convicted for, among other things, turning in Harry's parents to the Death Eaters, which resulted in their death. If Harry believed him to be innocent then how could he be guilty. Why would Harry stand by Sirius if he was really guilty of 'killing' Harry's parents? Anyways...I think you get the point. Second...what reason would Harry have for not telling her about the Room of Requirement? If he needed someone to talk to it's the perfect place to have a private conversation. Well, I hope these answered your questions! Please ask more if not! ~Kala~  
  
**I would also be happy to answer any other questions that anyone else has...feel free to ask in the review! 


	10. An Unexcapable Argument and Wishful Thin...

Hey Everyone!! I'm not sure if anyone even read the last chapter yet, because I didn't get any reviews (except from two people… thank you Greek Mione and Spiral Digger!!) *cough cough, hint hint, nudge nudge* Okay, I'm done with my little hints now. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy, and please review at the end!!

~Chapter Ten~

Kylee awoke to find that she was more tired than when she went to bed, tired and frustrated. For the last week she had been completely tense due to frustration and lack of sleep. The frustration came from the fact that Harry had been avoiding her. Ever since the kiss, he has been taking extra careful measures to make sure that he didn't "bump" into her. He got up early and went to the Great Hall before she was awake so that he could eat and leave before she got there. He hid out in the halls so she couldn't catch him between classes. In the classes he did have with her he would arrive right as the bell rang so she wouldn't be able to talk to him and then he would be the first out the door so that he could lose her in the crowd. It was really very frustrating. The lack of sleep came from the dreams she had been having. Surprisingly, they were not the dreams that she usually had. Each night she had a dream about Harry. Her mind wandered as she remembered the dream from last night.

**__**

~Harry was just about to make a beeline for his classroom when she caught his arm. He looked at her in defeat as she told him that he had been avoiding her. They stepped off to the side of the hallway to talk. "Harry, why have you been avoiding me?" "What do you mean? I have not been avoiding you," he replied while trying not to look at her. "Please, just tell me what's wrong. Why won't you talk to me? What did I do," she asked in exasperation. "You didn't do anything. It's me; it was my fault for letting it happen. The kiss was all one big mistake. I was avoiding you to keep from telling you that because I didn't want to hurt you, but you're very persistent. So, now you know. You can stop following me around now." After he was finished he turned around and walked away, leaving her standing there shocked. She tried to call out to him but she found that she couldn't speak, she couldn't use her voice.~

Kylee shuddered slightly as she remembered the dream. Though she didn't think Harry would say something that harsh, the dream represented what she was afraid was going to happen. Ever since that day all she could think about was the fact that Harry was avoiding her and there had to be a reason. She had to talk to him, but how? Then something dawned on her. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before," she said while smacking her forehead and jumping out of bed. She quickly dressed, brushed her hair, and grabbed her bag before running out of the dormitory and leaving the common room without slowing down. She quickly made her way down towards the Great Hall while mumbling to herself.

__

If Harry gets up early to eat and then leaves before I get there, then he has to go somewhere for the rest of breakfast. He doesn't go to library, because I've checked. I've checked all possible places, all except one. It's so simple, I just can't believe I haven't thought of it till now. Where else would he go other than the Room of Requirement? 

Kylee walked right past the Great Hall and quickly stepped behind the tapestry thinking of the room. She opened the door as soon as it appeared and walked in. When she looked up and saw that Harry was there she gave a sigh of relief. 

"Harry, I'm so glad I finally found you. Why have you been avoiding me? I've been trying to talk to you ever since…you know," she said while walking over to him and sitting down next to him.

"You have? I've been in here every morning. I thought that if I went in here you would come after me since this is our meeting spot. When you didn't come the first morning, I thought that you regretted the kiss and you didn't want to talk to me, so I avoided you."

"Oh! I know this may sound stupid, but I didn't even think of the possibility that you could be in here until this morning. I was afraid that you regretted the kiss because you've been avoiding me! But, I guess we were both wrong. So…You don't regret kissing me," she asked while looking at him tentatively.

"Of course not…. It's just--"

"What? What is it?"

"Well, everyone that I get close to dies. I don't want to put you in danger," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

"Harry! None of those deaths were your fault! And to me, you're worth me putting myself in danger."

"Don't say that… I'm not worth it--"

"Yes you are. What am I supposed to do? Hide away and never get near you? I would rather put myself into danger than live my life without you. You're the closest friend I have ever had, and now we can be more than friends. We can have a stronger relationship than anyone else could, and you want me to pass up the chance. Well, I won't do it! Some things are worth doing, no matter what the consequences."

"You really mean--"

Harry was cut off in the middle of his sentence as Kylee closed the remaining space between them and placed her lips over his in a fierce kiss.

"Does…that…answer your question," she said, a little breathless due to the length of the kiss and the rapid fluttering of her heart.

"Yeah," he replied while leaning in for another, gentler kiss.

When Harry pulled back and ended the kiss he looked at Kylee. _God, she's beautiful_, he thought. Kylee looked back at him and smiled. 

__

He has the greenest eyes I have ever seen. When he looks at me like that I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of crystal green…

"So…um, do you, er, wannabemygirlfriend," Harry asked while saying the last part quickly as one word.

"What?"

"I, er, asked if you want to be my, um, girlfriend," Harry said while turning a flattering shade of red.

"Oh," she said while smiling at the severity of his blush, "Of course I want to be your girlfriend."

"Um, great! You know the first Hogsmeade trip is, er, coming up---"

"I'd love to be your date for the Hogsmeade trip," she said, not waiting for him to finish what he was saying.

"Oh, good….Well, we have Defense next and we should probably get going. We have twenty minutes to get there," Harry said after looking at his watch and standing.

"Oh, yeah. Hmm, you must be a bad influence on me because I never used to completely forget things like going to class," she teased, loving how easy it was to make him blush. "You know I'm just kidding, right?"

"Oh, er, yeah…of course," he replied while heading out the door.

When they emerged from behind the tapestry they were met with the site of the majority of the students in the school making their way out of the Great Hall to get to class. Luckily no one saw them come from behind the tapestry. They made their way into the crowd in order to go to their own class. Kylee noticed many students, mainly Slytherins and Gryffindors, giving them strange looks for walking so close together. She glanced over at Harry and saw that he was trying to avoid the looks they were getting. 

__

Well, obviously no one has anything better to do than stare at us, so lets give them something to stare at, she thought.

She reached over and grasped Harry's hand in hers. She immediately heard several gasps from people in the crowd…and Harry.

__

Good Lord, I hope I don't give him a heart attack. I've noticed he doesn't really like all the attention he gets, but those pricks don't have anything better to do other than nose into our business. Ugh, I can't stand nosy people!

"Kylee…What are you doing," Harry whispered.

"_I_ happen to be minding my own business _and_ holding my boyfriends hand, which, last time I checked, is permissible to do without getting stared at by a bunch of people," she stated loud enough for everyone to hear while staring pointedly at a few less subtle observers. "I really hope you don't mind, Harry. It's just these people are getting on my nerves. If they're going to stare then we might as well give them something to stare at," she whispered, low enough so only Harry could hear.

"Oh, well…I think it's about time that I need to show everyone that I _can_ do something without having their approval," He whispered back.

"Hmmm, Now who's rubbing off on who," she asked while giving him a devious grin.

"It can go both ways," he replied while leaning down and placing a quick, but tender kiss on her lips.

Kylee was most definitely shocked, but in a good way.

__

Well! I think I might be a bad influence on him. Hmmm…no, I think it's good for him to come out of his shell for once. Humph, If I had known that kissing him was all it would take, I would have done it a lot sooner! Well, ok…technically it was him who kissed me first; but that's not the point! 

"My, my…what has come over you, Mr. Potter," she asked while gracing him with another grin.

Harry seemed to think for a minute before he said, "You…your carefree disposition is quite contagious."

"Well, it's a good thing I already have it," she replied as they reached the Defense classroom. 

A third of the students were already there, including Draco and Meridith. They had been talking in the back corner of the room, but that was until Draco saw a certain lovely Slytherin walk in holding hands with his most despised enemy…who just happened to also be a Gryffindor. Even Professor Lupin looked a little shocked, but that soon turned into a look of happiness that was caused by him knowing Harry had finally found someone. Kylee just stared at all of them as if daring them to say something about this highly unusual sight. Her and Harry walked over to her usual spot near the middle of the room, her favorite place to sit, and she plopped down in her seat while letting go of his hand. She looked up at him. 

"Where are you going to sit," she asked.

"Well, it just happens to be a win-win situation. You see; I can sit right here beside you and save these two seats for Ron and Hermione. That way I can sit next to all of my favorite people," he said while putting his bag in one seat and one of his books in the other before plopping down in the seat next to her.

"Ah, I love it when you show your intelligence," she said, smiling at him.

"What? You mean Potter actually has intelligence?! And all this time I thought that inflated skull of his was empty," taunted a familiar drawling voice.

"Drrraaaacccccoooo," she said while he ignored her.

"Why don't you just go away, Malfoy," Harry said while standing up. She could see his muscles tensing up.

"Oh, is that all you can think of to say? Seems like I had the right idea about your level of intelligence. What is it, negative one," Draco sneered.

"Will you guys stop," she asked while once again being ignored.

"I said Sod off, Malfoy," Harry ground out through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I'm so scared. Did somebody actually start acting like a Gryffindor now that he has a Slytherin on his side," Draco taunted again.

"HEY," she shouted, jumping out of her seat just as Harry looked like he was losing control of his temper. "Well, I'm glad something got your attention. Now will you please shut up? I mean both of you," she said as Harry started to open his mouth. "I'm not on one certain side. I like both of you. Draco, stop trying to bait Harry, it's so childish. Harry, stop getting so riled up that's exactly what he wants you to do. My God, what is this? Sometimes it feels like I'm dealing with two first years, not sixth years," she said exasperatedly while throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. "Do you two ever give it a rest? I mean, you've been going at it for six years, don't you think that's a bit long? Would you at least try to act civil towards each other when you're in front of me?"

As she finished she looked at both of them pointedly as if waiting for them to do something. They seemed to be in shock over her little outburst, but she was just sick of all the bickering. Of course, it was Draco who recovered first.

"Fine," he snapped and walked back to his seat.

"The shows over people," she snapped as she realized that a lot of people were still staring at her and Harry (who was now sitting in his seat trying not to bring forth her wrath once agian). 

"Alright, I would really appreciate it if you would all look this way so I can start class," Professor Lupin said and waited for everyone to turn to face him. "Good, now today we're going to be learning about a few dangerous creatures. You may have learned about some of these before, but, seeing as you had a less than satisfactory teacher last year, we are going to be reviewing at the same time. Now, who knows what a Dugbog is?"

As usual, Hermione was the first with her hand up in the air, but Dean Thomas also raised his hand. If anyone looked shocked that someone other than Hermione had raised their hand in the first place, they were further shocked when Professor Lupin called on Dean.

"Yes, Dean. Why don't you tell us what the Dugbog is," Professor Lupin said while giving him an encouraging smile.

"Well, it's a creature that resembles a piece of wood or a log, but actually has a head and claws," he stopped for a moment while he tried to remember more about the creature, "And it will attack the ankles of humans if they get too close."

"Very good, ten points to Gryffindor. They can be found in the marshes of Europe, North America, and South America. I managed to get my hands on one so that you could see for yourself what they look like."

Professor Lupin walked back behind his desk and bent down out of view. When he came up again he was holding an aquarium that had, from what they could tell, a very angry looking log in it. 

"This little guy tried to maul me when I purchased him from a trader. As you can see he is most definitely not happy about being in this cage. Now, can anyone tell me what they prefer as food," he asked as he set the cage on a table near the front of the room. "Hermione…"

"Their favorite food is the mandrake. They eat the mandrake and leave the leaves on top so it looks as if the plant is still there," she said with a smug air as if trying to redeem herself for not being the one to answer the last question.

"Correct, another ten points to Gryffindor. Now, this next part you should be taking notes on."

The rest of the class went well. They spent the rest of the period learning about Dugbogs and spells you can use to deflect them from harming you. After Defense Kylee had double Advanced Ancient Runes with the Ravenclaws. She was one, of three, sixth year Slytherins in the class. The rest of the class consisted of a few Ravenclaw sixth years, and the seventh year Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Harry walked part of the way with her before they had to say goodbye so he could get to his class.

"Kylee, I'm sorry about the 'little' argument with Malfoy. He just grates on the nerves and makes want to pummel him," Harry said while looking sincerely sorry.

"I know, it's alright. I know how he can be, but once you get to know him he's really not all that bad sometimes. Just, will you please try not to pummel him most of the time?"

"I suppose I can try, but I'm not promising anything," he replied while giving her a quick kiss and walking into his classroom.

Kylee managed to make it to her Runes class right before the bell rang. The class was going pretty well, they went over some runes that she had learned about last year at her old school. Then the rune of friendship came up. She immediately though of Jess.

__

Our love of runes was one of the many things we held in common. This was her favorite rune. I hope she can forgive me for moving on. I hope she knows that her death really effected me. But Harry helped me through all that…now I'm able to just remember the good times we had together while she was still with me. All the pranks we used to pull on her brother… 

With a small smile still on her lips she came back to reality when the bell rang and the Professor yelled that they needed one page on the rune of friendship. She gathered her things and made to run out the door so she could talk to Harry for a minute before she went to the library but, unfortunately, the Professor called her back.

"Yes Professor?"

"I noticed you were a little distracted by the end of class, is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah everything's fine. The friendship rune just brought back memories of one of my old friends. It was her favorite rune and when we started talking about it I just kind of got lost in the memories."

"Well, do pay attention from now on. This _is_ an Advanced level class."

"I know, I will," Kylee replied while turning around and finally making it out the door. 

__

Well, now I definitely don't have time to meet Harry. I'll just have to see him at dinner. He's probably in the Great Hall already anyways.

Normally she would see him at lunch, but she needed to go to the library to look up some information and get a few books for an assignment she had in Charms. 

* * *

__

It's finally time for dinner! Ugh, I think History of Magic is the most boring subject ever. I know it's only an hour and a half long, but it seems like it's at least double that amount of time. Then he gave us a three foot essay to write.

She entered the Great Hall a little late. She had gone right to the Common Room after classes to get her homework out of the way. That way she would get to spend the time after dinner with Harry, and he could spend the time before dinner with his friends. Ron and Hermione didn't approve of, or trust, her. Why? Because she was a Slytherin, and partial friends with Draco Malfoy. They just automatically thought her to be a slimy Slytherin. They wouldn't even give her a chance. So, they definitely couldn't all spend time together and get along. She just went over and sat in her usual seat across from Meridith. Dinner was going by fairly quiet because Draco was still being snappy over her reprimand this morning.

"Draco, will you please stop sulking? Your even putting me in depressed mood," she replied teasingly, trying to get him to talk to her.

"---"

"Draco…Come on, you know I didn't choose sides. I yelled at both of you equally."

"---"

" Ugh! Fine," she snapped, "If you're going to be this way about it then I'll just leave."

She stormed out of the Great Hall and right out the door of the Entrance Hall, but stopped on the stairs of the castle. She took a deep breath and sighed while turning her head towards the sky to look at the stars.

__

They're so beautiful and peaceful…they're in their own world.

"Kylee…," she heard her name whispered and looked behind her to see Harry standing there.

"Shhh…look at the stars. Aren't they beautiful tonight?"

"Yeah, they are," Harry replied while closing the remaining space between them and wrapping his arms around her waist.

She pulled his arms tighter around her and leaned into the embrace. She didn't know how long they stood there like that, silently gazing at the stars. After a while Harry stirred and looked at his watch.

"Hey," he whispered in her ear. "It's getting late, we should go to our dorms."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They walked inside, lightly grasping each other's hands. When they reached their parting place, the stairs, they stood there for a moment before Harry leaned in and lightly kissed her on the lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered in her ear before turning and walking up the stairs.

"Goodnight," she whispered back, not even sure if he could hear her.

When she returned to the Common Room she found it nearly empty. She walked up to her dorm and fell into bed, not even bothering to undress.

* * *

****

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone…whew, it took me awhile to write all that! It's my longest chapter yet! Aren't you proud of me? After days of trying to finish it…I did! Yay! I hope you all enjoyed it….please write a review and tell me what you think of the story, the plot line, my writing, whatever….just no flames please! Well, this chapter had a bit of fluff in it, but, we all need some fluffy moments every now and then! Well, what are you waiting for? Review! ~Kala


	11. A Confusing Situation

Hey Everyone! I know, I know, it's taken me longer than I wanted to get this chapter done. But, it's here now! I'm really sorry for the wait…I've been swamped with homework, family coming to visit, and a little writer's block, but I finally got it done! Thanks for being patient and waiting! Anyway, on with the story…

**__**

Chapter Eleven

Kylee reluctantly opened her eyes and stretched. Then she smiled as images from her dream drifted back to her. She gave a contented sigh before sitting up and opening the curtains around her bed. The dorm room was empty. _I think these people get up far too early. Did it ever kill anyone to get an extra hour of sleep, _she thought as she climbed out of bed. Then she had to admit to herself that she was glad the dorm was always empty when she woke up. Let's just say that she didn't really get along with her dorm mates. She walked over to her trunk to pull out her clothes for the day when she remembered something…. Today was Saturday _and_ the first Hogsmeade trip! She could have jumped up and down with delight, but she restrained herself. Hmm…this called for extra care in getting ready. She dug through her trunk until she found what she wanted. She pulled out a black skirt that was short, but not so short that it was slutty. This was her favorite skirt and she had been saving it for their first date. When she had it on it reached to mid-thigh. It was all black and pleated at the bottom. She then pulled out a spaghetti strap tank top. It was a very pale pink color. It was close fitting in the bust area, but after that it was loose and flowing. It wasn't one of those ones that were, in her opinion, too short to even be called shirts. It was fairly long, but it was one of her favorite shirts. After she was dressed she went over to the full-length mirror to inspect her appearance. _Hmmm…Yes, this is definitely one of my better outfits. Now, how should I wear my hair?_ After trying several different styles, she gave one last flick of the wand and looked in the mirror to inspect her handiwork. Her hair was now in loose curls with the front strands tied back with a ribbon to keep them out of her face. She then went over to her dresser, where she lightly swept a golden/pink color eyeshadow over her lids. She never really liked to wear makeup, and she only did on special occasions. This was her favorite eyeshadow because she really thought it highlighted the flecks of gold hidden in her chocolate eyes. She then swept on some clear lipgloss and looked in the mirror one last time before pulling on the best of her robes and placing her wand and a little bag of money in the pockets. This was going to be a good day; she just had a feeling about it.

* * *

Kylee was standing by the doors in the Entrance Hall waiting for Harry. She had been standing there for fifteen minutes and she was starting to worry that he had forgotten about her and gone ahead with his friends._ Where is he? What if he forgot? What if he just completely forgot that this was going to be our first date? What if…_

"Kylee!"

"Harry! Hey," she replied while letting out a relieved sigh.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I overslept and Ron ended up having to drag me out of bed," Harry said as he gave her a quick kiss.

"Oh, no I've only been waiting for around fifteen minutes," she replied while smiling at him.

"Sorry, you look great today. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as beautiful as you," Harry replied while grasping her hand and making her turn around in a full circle.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself," she replied while winking at him.

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just borrowed this shirt from Seamus, he a fashion fanatic," Harry replied while a slight blush crept across his cheeks.

"Ah, well we'd better go. There's hardly anyone left in the line and the carriages are about to leave," Kylee replied while taking his hand in hers and making her way over to where Filch was checking off names.

"Miss Baise, Mister Potter. You'd better not be off to any mischief. I'll be watching you when you get back Mister Potter," Filch growled as they walked by.

"Honestly, the way he talks you'd think I was going to come back with bags full of pranks and set them off in the castle," Harry said while smiling at her.

"What?! Harry Potter getting into mischief! I never heard such a preposterous idea," Kylee said, teasing him as they climbed into the last carriage with any room in it.

The carriage held Luna and Ginny already so they spent the ride up to Hogsmeade talking amiably with the two younger girls. Well, more like Harry and Luna were talking to everyone. Ginny and Kylee were just being civil towards each other. Unlike Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, Luna had no reserves about Kylee. Kylee got along well with her and liked her because she was not as judgmental as others could be. True, she could be a little 'out-there' sometimes, but she was a really nice person.

* * *

"So, where do you want to go first," Harry asked while chuckling at the look of amazement Kylee had on her face.

"Hey! It's not nice to laugh at people to their face! You're supposed to wait until I'm not standing right beside you," she said while playfully smacking his arm.

"Oh, whoops. I'll have to remember that next time," Harry teased.

"Ha-Ha. Is it my fault that I didn't grow up in a wizarding town? No, it's not. That would be the fault of my parents."

"Well, are you going to go home and smack their arms for depriving you? I'll even owl them and tell them off."

"Hmmm…as tempting as that sounds, I'm going to pass on it. I don't think my parents would like it if someone they've never met started owling them about being bad parents and depraving me of things as a child."

"Oh, imagine that. Well, you can always owl the Dursleys for me and threaten to turn them into bats or something since their son always seems to find 'Harry beating' an interesting pastime," Harry joked.

"I would be glad to," she replied while giving him a quick kiss.

"Good. Now where do you want to go first?"

"I don't know…I've never been anywhere like this."

"Well, I believe this calls for a once in a lifetime chance: Harry's Official Tour Of Hogsmeade," he stopped for a minute while he appeared to be thinking, "And since you're a friend of mine, I believe I can get the price down to five kisses."

"Deal, but you'll have to wait for the payment. I don't want to pay and then not get what I paid for now do I?" 

"Of course not, but I better get my payment," Harry replied while leaning in to kiss her.

"Hey," said as she moved out of the way. "I haven't gotten my tour yet!"

"Well, we'd better get a move on it because I don't think I can wait until the end of the day for my payment," Harry replied while grabbing her hand.

"Just one more thing…You don't ask all of your customers for kisses as payment, do you," she asked as he began to pull her towards their first stop.

"Nope, just you. In fact, you're the first and only customer I've ever had."

"Well, in that case, I feel honored."

"You should," he replied.

* * *

"Whew," Kylee sighed as she plopped down into the booth. "I don't think I've walked that much in a long time."

"Hmm…well, we should get you out more," Harry replied while he sat beside her. 

"Are you trying to say that I'm out of shape?"

"Of course not, you're just not in shape," he replied.

"I know," she said while smiling at him. 

They were in the Three Broomsticks. After a day of touring they were both quite tired and decided to stop at the famous bar for a much-needed rest. They were sitting in a booth on the back wall of the bar with all their bags sitting on the floor beside them.

"What can I get for you," Madame Rosmerta asked as she walked over to their table.

"Two butterbeers," Harry replied.

"Alright, they'll be here in a moment," she said as she walked back to the bar with their order.

"So, when do I get my payment?"

"Hmm…we'll see. I'll be sure to let you know."

"Yeah…," the rest of his sentence was cut off as he turned and saw Ron and Hermione coming through the doors of the bar.

Harry waved to them, but they just stood there.

"I'm going to go ask them if they want to sit with us."

"Harry…you know they don't like me. And it's just because I'm a Slytherin. They won't even give me a chance," Kylee finished with a scowl. 

"If I can get them to come over and sit with us, will you try to get along with them," Harry asked with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Of course, I know you want us to get along, but I don't think it's me that has the problem. I obviously don't have a problem with Gryffindors." 

"Ok, I know I can get them to at least be civil," Harry said before walking off with a determined look on his face.

True to his word, he came back a few minutes later with a reluctant looking Hermione and Ron in tow. Harry once again took his seat beside her while Ron and Hermione sat in the seat across from them. Harry looked like he was waiting for someone to say something so Kylee decided she'd better start it off.

"Hi Hermione, Ron," she said while smiling politely at them.

"Hi," they replied before lapsing into silence again.

Harry motioned to Madame Rosmerta to bring two more butterbeers over and picked up his own.

"So, what have you two been doing all day," he asked Ron and Hermione, trying to break the silence that had enveloped the table.

"We went to Honeyduke's to stock up on sweets and we went to Zonko's to look at the latest competition for Fred and George," Ron said, finishing the last part with a grin.

"Do they have anything new?"

"Nothing the twins can't beat. It's too bad you weren't at the Burrow this summer, mate. They were showing us all of their new inventions."

"Yeah, I wish I could have been there. But I got stuck with the Dursleys again. At least they don't lock me in the cupboard anymore."

"Harry…"

"I know, Hermione..'It's not safe for me to be outside of the Dursley's house when school's out'," he said with a sigh.

"So, did you guys do anything else," Kylee interjected, trying to keep them from arguing.

They all looked something akin to shocked when she spoke seeing as she had been silent for awhile, but then Ron answered.

"Not much, we stopped at the new quidditch supply store, though I had to drag 'Mione in there… Harry, mate, you've have to check out that store! It's amazing, they have some great stuff in there!"

"Are you talking about the one across from Gladrag's?"

"Yeah, they just built it this summer. It's absolutely amazing," Ron answered enthusiastically.

"Me and Harry stopped there on the way to see the Shrieking Shack. We were looking at the new racing brooms. I really like quidditch, but I'm not one for playing on school teams. I don't like all of those people staring at me."

"Ah, you get used to it after awhile. You should have seen Ron at his first game," Harry said with a chuckle, while Ron glared at him. "I'm just kidding, Ron. He did great," Harry told Kylee. 

"I'm sure he did."

"So you're not going to tryout for the quidditch team," Ron asked Kylee.

"Ah, no. I'm a bit phobic about the whole school staring at me. I'd end up too nervous to stay in the game," she replied.

"Harry, did Dumbledore lift that 'life-time ban'?"

"Actually, he hasn't said anything about it. I'll ask him next time I get a chance."

"What?! He'd better lift it! Ginny's great, but she's not you! You have to be on the team," Ron replied, practically shouting.

"Ron, calm down. I'm sure he'll let me back on the team. You know Dumbledore," Harry said, trying to calm down his friend.

"Yeah, you're right. We can't let Malfoy beat us again. Stupid self-indulged prat."

Kylee flinched a little at Ron's statement. Malfoy was her friend, even if he could be a prat sometimes. Unfortunately, Ron saw her flinch. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sincere at all, "I forgot someone at this table actually _likes_ Malfoy."

"Ron," Hermione said, putting a hand on his arm.

"No, 'Mione. If you like Malfoy so much, the why are you here? Why don't you go spend time with him?"

"I happen to like Harry too. Is that not allowed?"

"No, it's not. It's not possible to like Harry and Malfoy. You have to have one side or the other."

"Well I'm not on one side or the other. I like them both for different reasons, and the last time I checked I could like whomever I pleased. I may be in Slytherin, and I hold a loyalty to my house, but that doesn't mean I can't like Harry too. Maybe you need to stop being so prejudiced against Slytherins! Not all of us are bad," she finished while standing up from the table. "Harry, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm welcome here. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Alright, I might even find you in a minute," he replied while kissing her on the cheek.

She bent down to pick up her bags before walking out of the bar.

* * *

Harry watched Kylee leave the Three Broomsticks before turning back to Ron and Hermione.

"How could you do that, Ron?"

"Mate, she's a Slytherin _and_ she _likes_ Malfoy! How can you like her?!"

"Because she makes me happy! She makes me forget about everything for a minute when I'm with her. If you were really my friend then you would just be happy that I'm happy," Harry said while practically glaring at Ron.

"Harry, of course we're glad that you're happy! We just don't trust her," Hermione said indignantly.

"Well I do trust her. You just don't know her like I do. Will you please act civil when you see her? For me?"

"Of course we will, mate, but just know that we don't trust her," Ron answered, not wanting to make his friend turn away from him.

"Well, you don't have too. I'll see you two back at the castle; I'm going to go find Kylee," Harry said while getting up from the table and grabbing his bags.

"Okay, Harry, you're not mad at us are you," Hermione asked carefully.

Harry sighed. "No, I just wish you would try to get along with her," he said as he walked from the table. 

He left the Three Broomsticks and set out to find Kylee.

* * *

"Kylee, hold on a minute!"

Kylee turned around to see whom the voice belonged to and was surprised to see Malfoy walking up to her.

"Draco? I thought you weren't talking to me," she said while giving him the trademark Slytherin smirk, you do learn some things from your housemates.

"Well, I wasn't, but I saw that you looked pissed about something and decided to come see what unsuspecting person I get to hex. Why aren't you with Potter?" 

"Well, I was with _Harry_, but then Granger and Weasley entered the picture."

"Ah, I see why you didn't want to stick around. What idiotic thing did they do now?"

"Just the usual 'you're-in-Slytherin-so-you-must-be-an-untrustworthy-bitch' predjudice," she said with malice.

"Yeah, they seem to be good at that. They do it to me all the time and what have I ever done to deserve their wrath," he asked with feigned innocence. 

"Oh, I don't know," she answered sarcastically.

"Neither do I. Well, obviously you were just going to let that ruin your day, but we can't let those two spoil all the fun. Have you ever had Firewhiskey?"

"No…"

"Come on, I'm taking you to the Hogshead."

"How are we going to get in? I thought students weren't allowed."

"Kylee, this is me you're talking to."

"Oh…right. Is anyone else there?"

"I think Zambini and a couple lower years are going to be there," he answered while steering her down an alleyway.

At the end of the alleyway, Draco held a door open for her and waited for her to go in. When Kylee walked in, she found herself in another bar. This one was darker inside though, but not so dark that you couldn't see, it was just not as…bright. She studied the room for a minute while Draco was talking to the wizard behind the bar. It was about the same size as the Three Broomsticks. The walls were covered in wood paneling and had a few paintings up along with some advertisements for various alcoholic drinks. The room was filled with circular tables of various sizes along with barstools. The actual bar went along the whole length of the right-side wall. It was fairly high and looked to be made of mahogany. It had barstools all along the front of it for the customers to sit on and a fair amount of them were taken. Shelves that held bottles of all shapes and sizes covered the wall behind the bar. The bottles were filled with liquids of every color and some that Kylee had never seen before. The bartender himself looked…rough. He was fairly tall with long, stringy, black hair and a full beard. He had several scars along his face and obsidian eyes. This was the man that Draco was now talking to. When Draco was finished, he turned back to Kylee and led her over to a table in the corner, which held Blaise along with his date, a Fifth year Slytherin named Aden. She took the seat across from Blaise while Draco took the other seat at the four-person table. She smiled at Blaise and gave him a suggestive wink while motioning towards his date. He just gave her a smug looking smirk and whispered something in Aden's ear. Kylee smiled to her self, _Blaise always did have good taste._ Draco seemed to get agitated at not being the center of attention and whispered into her ear, "We could always follow their lead and make out."

"Draco, they're not making out."

"What's your point," he whispered back.

She could just picture his smirk and turned towards him, not realizing that his face was only a few inches from hers and by turning she made it so their lips were dangerously close. Kylee's breathing kicked up a notch. She mentally chided herself for think about Draco's lips. _You have a boyfriend. What would Harry think if he walked in and saw you here nearly kissing Draco?_ She leaned forward like she was going to kiss Draco, but turned her face at the last second so her lips were right beside his ear.

"I have a boyfriend."

Draco just sat there for a minute looking something between stumped and shocked. Then they both realized that they were in fact in a bar and had two very amused Slytherins sitting right across from them. She sat back in her seat and mock-glared at Blaise. Blaise just smiled at her.

"Damn, and I thought we were going to get a show. Please, don't stop just because were here," Blaise said with a smirk.

"Ha-ha. Unfortunately for you, I did not come here to be your personal porn show. If you want a show so bad then floo to a strip club! And, besides, I have to go," she said while getting up from the table and leaving the bar. Luckily Draco was still a little shocked and didn't think to follow her. Once she got out of the alley, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. _That was way too close…_

"Kylee!"

__

Oh Gods, please don't let it be Harry, don't let it be Harry, she thought as she opened her eyes to see…Harry running towards her. She groaned before pushing her self off the wall and walking towards him. _It's ok…just don't say anything about Draco._

"Kylee I…," the rest of his sentence was cut off.

"I wasn't in the Hogshead with Draco," she blurted out. 

__

Shit, double shit…smooth move there, Kylee. She mentally berated herself while praying that Harry just completely missed that little statement.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh…nothing. What were you saying?"

"Oh, I was just going to say that I'm sorry for the way Ron acted and ask if I could walk you back to the castle."

"Of course, and don't worry, it's not your fault that Ron can be a prat too."

"Alright."

And they walked off into the sunset….well, not really. They walked back to the castle together, holding hands and talking.

Whew…that was a long chapter! I'm so sorry that it took me forever to finish! Really, I am. I just went through a major stage of something akin to writer's block! Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now…REVIEW!!!! ~Kala 


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